Cox maintained the influential 2.2 branch of the Linux kernel and remained one of its most trusted core developers for decades, later working on kernel security and driver development for companies including Red Hat and Intel.

In the early 1980s, songwriter and producer Jim Steinman - the architect of Bat Out of Hell - wrote Bonnie Tyler the song that would define her career. Total Eclipse of the Heart, released in January 1983, reached number one in both the United Kingdom and the United States -- making Bonnie Tyler the first Welsh singer to have a transatlantic number one hit. The accompanying album, Faster Than the Speed of Night, debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart - making her the first female artist ever to debut a UK album at number one, earning her a Guinness World Record. Steinman also wrote her other great 1980s hit, Holding Out for a Hero (1984) from the Footloose soundtrack.

In 2022 she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to music. She had previously been named Freeman of Neath Port Talbot (2011) and received an honorary doctorate from Swansea University (2013). She is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She remains a committed patron of the Bobath Children's Therapy Centre Cardiff and an ambassador for Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales - giving back, in her characteristically generous way, to the country and the people that made her.

In April 2011, Zeta-Jones spoke publicly about being treated for bipolar II disorder, saying at the time that if her openness encouraged even one other person to seek help, it would be worthwhile — a disclosure widely credited with helping to reduce stigma around the condition.

Beyond music, Matthews has become a familiar broadcasting voice, presenting on BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2, and has written books celebrating Welsh cooking and culture. She was appointed MBE for services to music.